Woldombe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The present generation of the Woldombe family is only the most recent to bear a name that dates back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name comes from having lived in or near any of the places named Walden in Essex, Hertfordshire, and Northern Yorkshire. Woldombe is a local surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Other types of local surnames include topographic surnames, which could be given to a person who lived beside any physical feature, such as a hill, stream, church or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. The surname Woldombe comes from the Old English words wealh and denu, which mean foreigner and valley. Thus, the surname would have been given to a person who was a stranger from a valley. Another source claims a slightly different origin of the place name: "The name Walden is said to be derived from the Saxon words Weald and Den, signifying a woody valley. At a latter period the place was called Waldenburgh. " [1]CITATION[CLOSE]Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.

Early Origins of the Woldombe family

The surname Woldombe was first found in Essex at Saffron Walden. "The name Walden is said to be derived from the Saxon words Weald and Den, signifying a woody valley. At a latter period the place was called Waldenburgh; and in the reign of Stephen." [1]CITATION[CLOSE]Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.

Some of the family were granted the lands of Walden Abbey and adopting their surname from those lands.

Another source notes that Walden means "valley of the Britons," from the Old English "walh" + "denu." [2]CITATION[CLOSE]Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)

King's Walden in Hertfordshire dates back to Saxon times when it was originally known as Waleden in 888, but by the time of the Domesday Book of 1086, it was known as Waldene and was held by the king at that time. [2]CITATION[CLOSE]Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)

And this is where we found the first record of the family, specifically Godeman de Waldena who was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1176. Years later, Simone de Waldene was listed in 1304 in Yorkshire. Another early record of the name is Thomas Walden, recorded in the Pipe Rolls for Essex, 1377. [3]CITATION[CLOSE]Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 lists Alice de Waledene in Cambridgeshire; and Richard de Waledene in Cambridgeshire. Later, the YorkshirePoll Tax Rolls lists Thomas Waldyng (1379); and Johannes Waldyng (1370) [4]CITATION[CLOSE]Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)

Humphrey de Waleden (d. 1330?) was an English judge, a 'king's clerk,' who was "appointed to the custody of the lands of Simon de Montacute, first Baron Montacute, in the counties of Somerset, Devon, Dorset, Oxford, and Buckingham, and on 16 Jan. 1291 to the custody of the lands of the late Queen Eleanor. " [5]CITATION[CLOSE]Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print

Today, Saffron Walden is a market town in Uttlesford district of Essex, home of Walden Abbey, a Benedictine monastery, founded by Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex between 1136 and 1143. Walden and Walden Head are hamlets in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire and Walden Stubbs is a village and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire. [1]CITATION[CLOSE]Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.

Early History of the Woldombe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Woldombe research.Another 59 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1405, 1573, 1401, 1372, 1388, 1390, 1406, 1397, 1405, 1406, 1387 and 1405 are included under the topic Early Woldombe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Woldombe Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Woldombe include Walden, Waldern, Waldon, Waldew and others.

Early Notables of the Woldombe family (pre 1700)

Notables of the family at this time include Sir Alexander Walden (died 1401), knighted by 1372, Member of Parliament for Essex (1388-1390.)
Roger Walden (died 1406), was an English diving, Archbishop of Canterbury in 1397, an English treasurer, church figure, served Richard II as secretary, elected... Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Woldombe Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Woldombe family to the New World and Oceana

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Woldombe were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: Humphrey and Robert Walden who settled in Virginia in 1623; Sam Walden who settled in Virginia in 1635; Thomas Walden, his wife and children and servants arrived in Barbados in 1680.